London Misadiventures
This article was published for the first time in 2013 when the facts occurred. I only examined the layout later.
London is a city that will always surprise you, even if you visit the million times. The only problem is that not all surprises are good.
Never make the mistake of being so naive and think that you are a seasoned and hard traveler, you’ve seen them all.
FAKE!
I was back from an 8 -month -old adventurous trip Southeast Asia. I had scorpions crawling on my bed, I slept on a bus floor, I was stolen in my sleep and I was a illegal immigrant in Thailand for a month.
I lived in London for six years without a single accident. What could go wrong this time?
So what happened last night?
How a simple taxi route turned into a film “Taxi Driver”, where the charming of Niro was replaced by a total psycho, an idiotic man who should have directed his imaginary taxi in a mental institution?!
If you want to know the details, let’s go!
It was midnight a normal Wednesday in London: My flight was delayed when I arrived at the Stratford tube station. I wanted to take the metro but, tired and cold, I decided to go get a taxi instead.
I had the address, the postal code and the phone number of my friend written in my journal, just in case. I also watched the card before departure and I noted the instructions to get to your destination.
The card clearly showed that from point A to point B, it was a maximum of 5/8 minutes. We were in zone 2. For those who do not know London transport, zone 2 is quite central. In addition to that, the Stratford region has been renovated for the Olympic Games, and it is now very easy to navigate.
Meet Robert de Niro stupid brother
I approached the psycho who will soon be in his taxi and I showed him the address, explaining that I knew that the place was close enough, but I just wanted to play safely, to be so late.
“No problem” I know this area. Let me see the postal code ”. I showed him all the details, but he could not locate the place with his shitty mobile (first warning sign here: no appropriate browser).
But hey, the guy is a taxi driver. He does this every day and every day, and his work is to know his path, right? He reassured me that even if he could not locate him on the mobile, he understood it.
I immediately warned him: “Listen, I only have £ 23 on me. Would that be enough?” I knew it was more than enough because I had taken many taxis before, and the distance to be covered was ridiculous. He left me in the car, and we left.
Second warning panel: At one point, I heard it cursed badly in a car that passed too close to his. Well, I thought the guy clearly did not go to Oxford here. Again: another curse. He was quite nervous for no apparent reason.
Get lost and madness
Now let’s make a brief summary here:
- He is a taxi driver, so he should know his way.
- If a taxi driver does not know his way, he uses the card, or even better, the browser.
- If a taxi driver is not sure he can take you where you want to go, he will tell you in advance. I had drivers who refused to let me go because they did not know where the place was.
- I gave him the address and postal code (generally more than enough information for a driver) and my journal with a step -by -step route, including the names of the roads and where he had to turn.
I bet you already know the rest of the story now. He was completely lost. He wandered, furiously asking for my newspaper from time to time.
I have given several worried looks about man, but especially the taxi, because he quickly reached the amount of money I had on me.
I said to him, “Listen, we are lost; I don’t know how you can’t find your way here. I have two mobiles; We have a Thai SIM card without credit. The second, my British SIM card, does not work for any reason (Murphy’s Law!). Can I make a kindness of two seconds with your mobile so that my friend can remind you and help you?
His answer: “It will cost you at least £ 2”. I said, “What”? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Call a number in the United Kingdom for 1 second, and you want me to pay 2 pounds?!
I had no doubt about man’s idiocy, but I still haven’t understood that he was also a total psycho. I had no choice. It was late at night, my two mobile phones did not work and I did not have an internet connection. SHIT.
Anyway. He finally let me call, and my friend gave him other indications. He thought he had finally understood the route and start wandering over. No, the only neuron he had left on his brain was on strike. He got lost again.
I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it. I tried to stay calm and I always answered him well. Getting angry with him would not have helped the situation at this stage.
You cannot hide your true nature for too long: the removal
At one point, he furiously stopped the car, cursed for a while (as if it were my fault if he could not locate the place) and called my friend to get a reminder.
I took his phone and my friend, and I decided to meet at the tube station (2 minutes walk from his house), so you can imagine the idiocy of this man getting lost around a tube station. He finally took me in front of that, and I thought this stupid walk was over.
Not quite. The frightening part was about to start!
I gave him my £ 23, and the taxi counter was at £ 28. I told him several times that I came from £ 23. Nevertheless, he started to curse me and shout me on it, Located the doors and began to move away from the tube.
I was not even afraid at that time, I knew he was a psycho, but I was so furious that I started to cry out on him, asking him to stop the car and let me go out. He didn’t even listen to me and continued his crazy, cursed and screaming walk.
I was in total shock, so I started knocking on his window, threatening him to stop the car. It lasted about 5 minutes. The five The longest minutes of my life.
He stopped the vehicle on a very dark, small and dead street, insulting me in all possible ways. He wanted the difference of £ 5, because I did not warn him that I had only one fixed amount on me. I wanted it to be finished and I remembered that I had a few euros left.
The price difference was ridiculous, and it was also his fault to take so long. He had the courage to ask me 20 euros for the difference.
The “conversation” that followed after his absurd request was a bloody fight with him and me, shouting. I said he had to make fun of me because I know that the exchange rate for £ 5 the difference is not even 10 euros.
I saw that he unlocked the doors (I don’t know why and I do not honestly want to know at this stage), I threw him 10 euros, and I quickly opened the doors when he was already moving the car.
I managed to drag my 15 kg bag without any consequences, and I found myself in shock in a dark alley without anyone in sight. GREAT!
Fortunately, during his crazy ride far from the tube, I tried to memorize some of the roads he took, and in about 15 minutes, trying to run with my bloody heavy bag, I was back at the tube station. My friend was waiting for me, very worried.
A miracle.
If I think about it now, I guess I was lucky that it ends in this way. I did not know the danger of being on a road without dark from a car with a psycho. I was just furious at the way he treated me and I hadn’t considered what could have happened if he was even more angry. What can I add to this:
